Strong earthquakes shake Panama, buildings damaged

A powerful magnitude-7.7 earthquake struck Panama on Friday morning.

According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the quake's epicenter was located approximately 10 kilometers (6 miles) southwest of the remote community of Pitaloza Arriba, near Panama's southern tip.

The quake struck at a depth of 10 kilometers. Shallow earthquakes (up to 70 kilometers deep) are considered more dangerous and destructive.

The USGS later reported that a second powerful earthquake, measuring 6.6 in magnitude, struck the country following a series of aftershocks.

The tremors were strongly felt in the capital Panama City, causing buildings to shake and sending people rushing into the streets.

"We felt it very strongly. It knocked things over in the kitchen, but we're okay, though we're very scared," Rosendo Domínguez, 60, who is from Herrera province, where the earthquake struck, told The Associated Press by phone. “Everyone is outside, scared."

Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino described the earthquake as a "major disaster" which had destroyed roads near the epicenter.

What do we know about damage?

Mulino did not say whether there were any casualties.

According to Omar Smith of the National Civil Protection Service, damage was concentrated in the central provinces of Veraguas, Herrera and Los Santos.

Smith reported several injuries, as well as partial collapses and cracks at the cathedral in the district’s main square, as well as damage to the governor’s office building and the Dos Continentes hotel.

Meanwhile, local news outlets reported that the colonial-style Church of San Atanasio in Panama’s Los Santos province collapsed. The church was declared a National Historic Heritage Site in 1938.

Tsunami warning lifted

The US Tsunami Warning System issued an alert stating that hazardous tsunami waves were possible along parts of the coasts of Panama, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Mexico within the next three hours.

The system also reported a tsunami threat to Hawaii. The warning was lifted later on Friday afternoon.

Initially, there were no reports of damage to the Panama Canal. The Panama Canal Authority stated that the waterway was operating as usual.

Tocumen International Airport in Panama City briefly suspended operations and activated evacuation protocols before reopening later on Friday afternoon.

Panama is located along the so-called "Ring of Fire," a line of seismic faults encircling the Pacific Ocean where most of the world's earthquakes occur.

Edited by: Sean Sinico, Karl Sexton